The Trump administration is preparing to offer farmers another $20 billion in aid making it through the Trump trade war with China. This new $20 billion follows $12 billion last year, with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue telling reporters that “We will look at the history of what happened with that program and we’ll try to learn from it and improve from it and address some of those stakeholder comments.” But this is not what Perdue was saying just a few weeks ago.
Late in 2018, Perdue said the aid wouldn't be extended, because “Farmers are very resilient and adept in making their planning and marketing decisions based on the current market.”
As recently as a few weeks ago, Perdue contradicted White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow’s claim that there would be more aid for farmers, saying “I’m afraid that’s not accurate” and “Possibly there has been some miscommunication.” Possibly that miscommunication was between Donald Trump and Perdue, since here we are, with Perdue saying that the USDA is “expediting” the new funds because Trump said so.
The new $20 billion to farmers comes as Trump’s trade war with China escalates rapidly.